Neuron 92, 1181–1195. PMID 26687838 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2015.11.013 Next, the researchers confirmed that A1s jettison the nurturing qualities they’d had as resting astrocytes, which Barres’ group has shown are essential to the formation and functioning of synapses, and instead became toxic to neurons. It probed the roles of different types of glial cell—astrocytes and microglia—in synapse elimination, for example. Reactive astrogliosis is characterized by a profound change in astrocyte phenotype in response to all CNS injuries and diseases. To better understand the reactive astrocyte state, we used Affymetrix GeneChip arrays to profile gene expression in populations of reactive astrocytes isolated at various time points after induction using two mouse injury models, ischemic stroke and neuroinflammation. Born Barbara Barres, Ben always had felt uncomfortable in his body until he transitioned to male at age 43, by then already a professor at Stanford University. Clarke and Barres review our current understanding of these vital processes and highlight unanswered questions for future research. Ben was a pioneering scientist and a devoted mentor, as… https://www.discovermagazine.com/mind/the-brain-of-ben-barres Stanford University physician and neuroscientist Ben Barres, PhD, who died of pancreatic cancer on December 27, 2017, had a love affair with glial cells. Key figure. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). *Equally contributing authors. Key Research Points. From early childhood, he suffered greatly from gender dysphoria, until transitioning from Barbara to Ben at age 43. Ben Barres has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. In 1997, Barres, along with researcher Rob Wechsler-Reya , published a study in the journal of Current Biology that showed the interactions between neurons and glial cells affected the structure and function of the retina and optic nerve in rats. Understanding the cell–cell interactions that control CNS development and function has long been limited by the lack of methods to cleanly separate neural cell types. Later, Beth Stevens in his group found that astrocytes and microglia prune synapses in response to signals from complement proteins of the innate immune system, both during development and in … Scientists led by Ben Barres and Shane Liddelow, Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, California, find that Il-1α, TNF, and C1q push resting astrocytes into a reactive state the scientists call A1. “We’ve learned astrocytes aren’t always the good guys,” Ben Barres, MD, PhD and senior author of the study, said in a news release.. “An aberrant version of them turns up in suspicious abundance in all the wrong places in brain-tissue samples from patients with brain injuries and major neurological disorders from Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s to multiple sclerosis. Barres BA, et al. Ben Barres. Ben Barres transformed our understanding of brain glial cells. Ben Barres categorizes two types of reactive astrocytes, A1 and A2, and describes how they affect the fate of neurons after brain injuries. Ben left an indelible mark on the scientific community as a scientist, an advocate for equality, and an unbelievably supportive mentor. Here we describe methods for the prospective isolation and purification of astrocytes, neurons, and oligodendrocytes from developing and mature mouse forebrain. Astrocytes (red) and oligodendrocytes (green) are two types of glial cells that the Barres lab studied. Barres, Ben Freeman, Marc R., 1970-Stevens, Beth, 1970-Availability. He lived an extraordinary life and died too young after a 2-year battle with pancreatic cancer. These glial cells have profound effects on neurons (blue). The pharmaceutical industry has been largely focused on neurons, but our finding suggests that glia might be important drug targets. Purification and Characterization of Progenitor and Mature Human Astrocytes Reveals Transcriptional and Functional Differences with Mouse. After Barres gave a talk as Ben, he heard an audience member remark, “Ben Barres gave a great seminar today, but then his work is much better than his sister’s.” Having inhabited both gender roles, Barres brings singular perspective to the question of how to create an even playing field for female and transgender scientists. The steps by which synapsis form, highlighting the role of astrocytes (the dominant type of glial cell in the brain) from Figure 1 in Barres 2008. Astrocytes, which perform many indispensable functions in the brain, can take on a darker character, destroying nerve cells and likely driving many neurodegenerative diseases, a team led by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine has found.. Ben Barres, PhD, a neuroscientist who led pivotal research on the role of glial cells in the brain, died in December. New transgenic mouse lines for selectively targeting astrocytes and studying calcium signals in astrocyte processes in situ and in vivo. Barres and his collaborators decided to take a different approach and focused their work on the study of astrocytes and other glia rather than neurons. They help control extracellular ion and neurotransmitter concentrations; provide neurotrophic support; are implicated in synapse formation, function, and pruning; and help maintain the blood-brain barrier. Ben Barres, professor of neurobiology at Stanford University and member of the JCB editorial board for over 15 years, passed away on December 27, 2017, after a lengthy battle with pancreatic cancer. Astrocytes are the dominant type of glial cells found in the brain. Astrocytes are central nervous system (CNS) glial cells with many important functions for normal development and neural functioning. Astrocytes play a key role in maintenance of neuronal functions in the central nervous system by producing various cytokines, chemokines, and growth factors, which act as a molecular coordinator of neuron-glia communication. Image from Jonathan Cohen at the NIH Dr. Ben Barres is a hero to those of us here at NeuWriteSD. More than a decade ago, at Stanford University, Barres uncovered that astrocytes help regulate synapse formation and transmission (Jan 2001 news; Christopherson et al., 2005). Barres: We have shown that astrocytes secrete a signal called thrombospondin, which is necessary for synapse formation, and that astrocytes also have a receptor for thrombospondin. Data from his laboratory shows that A2 cells are induced after ischemia (low oxygen), and seem to release factors that could help neuron survival. Ben came from a unique position of having experienced life in academia as both a woman and a man. Neuron . A1 astrocytes weaken synapses and kill neurons and myelin-producing cells. Nicola J. Allen and Ben A. Barres are in the Department of Neurobiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California 94305-5125, USA. At the site of neuroinflammation, astrocyte-derived cytokines and chemokines play both neuroprotective and neurotoxic roles in brain lesions of human neurological … Astrocytes are now emerging as … Funding: This work was supported the National Institutes of Health (NS102807, ES02530, ES029136, AI126880, AI149699, DP2AT009499, 1K99NS114111, F32NS101790, and R01AI130019), National MS Society (RG4111A1 and JF2161-A-5), the International Progressive MS Alliance (PA-1604-08459), a Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative Ben Barres Early Career award, the Burroughs Wellcome fund, the …